


Out Of The Ashes

by celticheart72



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Erik's inner thoughts, F/M, Post-X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019), X-Men: Dark Phoenix (Movie) Spoilers, reference to loss of Magda and Nina
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2020-07-28 04:54:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20058349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celticheart72/pseuds/celticheart72
Summary: Erik meets Olivia on the little island he frequents for supplies for his mutant sanctuary. His past with humans and the loss of his family in Poland make him reluctant to get to know her. She’s persistent and despite his half-hearted efforts to discourage her affections, he finds himself falling for her. After turning Jean away from Genosha and Hank tells Erik the truth of what happened he fears once again losing someone he loves when he sets out to find Jean.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> WARNINGS: none

Eight years.

Erik considered this as he loaded the bed of the old truck with the supplies he secured for Genosha. It had been nearly eight years since he’d seen the mutant family he chose to leave behind in order to live in peace. He couldn’t do what Charles did.

His old friend was ever the optimist, truly believing that the world viewed mutants as heroes now just because they were useful to the US Government.

Right now.

What happened when they weren’t though? What happened when something went wrong as it always did?

He’d lived through that nightmare one too many times. Charles had not. Not really. They would have to agree to disagree on the idea of humans and mutants living together peacefully.

One of the reasons he had chosen to live apart from the rest of the world was to give mutants a safe haven where they never had to worry about the interference of humans. Granted the land he created Genosha from had been given to them by the US Government. He made absolutely sure that it was an irrevocable covenant and that they were completely sovereign unto themselves. They were so long as they stayed out of the affairs of the world around them.

Despite being mostly self-sufficient they still needed supplies and communications in order to support the mutant residents they had, take on new ones, and find the ones who needed them. Erik chose to be the one to go out into the world among humans for those things. A few of the mutants who lived and worked on Genosha with him traveled to those far off places where their help was needed. They brought back the mutants who had no other safe place.

Erik loaded the last of the supplies into the bed of the truck and paused to consider his own place in the world. He’d lost so much but he knew if Magda and Nina were still alive they would be proud of him. 

Tears that rarely came sat in the corners of his eyes at the thought of his lost wife and daughter. His babies lost those eight years ago. He blinked them away and closed his eyes for a moment.

Something stabbed at his mind and his eyes flew open. It almost felt like the touch of a telepath but it wasn’t that at all. His eyes were drawn to a woman walking down the sidewalk. 

She was tiny by his way of thinking and delicate looking. He appreciated her curves and how her shorts and tank top hugged them. Her skin was a sun-kissed ivory, and her hair, which she wore in a long braid down her back, appeared to be a golden brown. While he was too far away to see what color her eyes were somehow he knew they’d be a deep emerald green.

His heart stuttered in his chest at the sight of her and something in him kept him from looking away.

The woman disappeared into a small bar that he always passed by on his trips from the dock where he kept his boat and the old truck he drove when he came to the island. He’d never been inside. 

It had probably been ten years or more since he’d had a drink. 

Erik looked between the back of the truck and the bar where the woman disappeared. There had been women since he lost Magda, all one-night stands strictly to fill a need. None of them on Genosha though. Every one had been a human female he never took a second look at.

Magda had been human and she loved him with her heart, body, and soul.

He loved her with the same ferocity and he missed her. Missed the intimacy and closeness they shared. She had been his best friend, accepted him despite his past.

It felt wrong somehow to want that again after losing her and Nina in the woods of Poland to that policeman’s arrow.

Is that why he was drawn to this woman? Did he want that again? 

Maybe he just needed to fuck her.

That was crass, he thought to himself, but possibly true. It had been a while.

Sighing he scrubbed a hand over his face and closed the tailgate on the truck. It would be fine where it was long enough for him to go inside and get a drink.

His hand laid over the top of the tailgate while he considered his options. One drink wouldn’t hurt anything. If nothing else maybe he could gauge if she might be amenable to sleeping with him.

Rolling his shoulders and neck he pocketed his keys and made his way over to the bar. He stood there in front of the door looking up at the sign advertising its name. With a shake of his head he pushed the door open.

_ Hole In The Wall _

What an apt name, he thought when he walked inside.

The bar itself stretched from one end of the large room to the other and sat to the left of the door. It was mostly empty so he took a seat at the end near the exit in case he felt the need to leave quickly. He turned and looked around the room. There were tables and booths, a few pool tables, a jukebox, and a parquet dance floor in the center. But no sign of the woman that drew him in there and he felt a twinge of disappointment. 

“You’re new.” A mellifluous feminine voice said to his left and he turned back to find the woman he came in for smiling at him. “What can I get you?”

Her eyes were as green as he imagined they’d be. 

Erik almost lost his words. “Glenlivet, neat.”

“Fine taste in scotch.” Her smile widened as she moved off to make his drink.

His heart lifted at her smile and he felt himself responding in a way he hadn’t to a woman since Magda. She came back and set the drink in front of him and he just nodded once tightly before dropping his eyes to the glass.

“A man of few words?”

He lifted his eyes to meet hers again. She didn’t look upset that he hadn’t said anything, just curious and that smile hadn’t left her lips. Erik’s heart jumped again at the sight. Rather than say anything he just tipped his glass to her and took a sip of the scotch. His eyes closed and he relished the taste. When he opened them again he found her still watching him with a smile.

Something told him it wasn’t just dumb luck that made their paths cross that day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olivia shares a drink with Erik on one of his visits to her bar.

“Glenlivet, neat?” Olivia asked the man who had been coming into the bar every few weeks.

She knew who he was, but wasn’t about to out him. He seemed to want his privacy, and she was going to respect that.

At her question, he simply nodded and watched her walk over to where they kept the scotch. After pouring two shots of the amber liquor into a glass, she carried it back to where he sat and placed it on the bar in front of him. His money already sat there, enough for the scotch and a generous tip as always. She took it and made her way to the register, where she cashed out her tip and stuck it in her jar.

Her eyes focused on the jar for a moment before she turned and looked around the bar. It’s few patrons were occupied and enjoying themselves, no one seemed to need anything at the moment. She pulled enough money for a glass of her favorite wine out of the jar and stuck it in the register.

The man raised an eyebrow at her when she carried her wine over to where he sat and made herself comfortable on a stool behind the bar there.

“You always drink alone, so I thought I’d join you,” Olivia told him with a smile as she swirled the wine in her glass.

His chin very faintly lifted as he drank a little more of his scotch, and his eyes, which she’d noticed were a beautiful shade of blue, focused on her fingers around her glass.

For several months he’d been coming in for his drink and just sat in his seat and watched. Her. The bar patrons. Sometimes the TV. But mostly her.

Except for the very first time he came in and told her what drink he wanted, he had yet to say another word. She’d never forget the low timbre of his voice or his accent. Perhaps eventually he’d find her interesting enough to speak again.

In the meantime, she’d content herself to sitting across the bar from him and quietly share a drink.

There was something about him that drew her in, made her heart flutter in her chest every time his eyes landed on her. It had been a lot of years since a man had that effect on her, and she wanted to see where his sudden interest in the corner of her bar took them.

Olivia leaned her head back against the wood behind her and closed her eyes, letting out a soft sigh as she did. She’d been on her feet all day, and it felt good to be idle, even just for a moment. When she opened her eyes again, she found the man studying her.

Not in a creepily sexual way like most men did. She noticed that he seemed more interested in her mannerisms and how she interacted with the people in the bar than anything.

Smiling, she sat up straight and set her wine glass down. His drink was empty at that point. Pointing to it, she lifted an eyebrow. He nodded and handed her the glass. His fingers barely brushed hers as he did so.

That one very brief innocent touch sent a ripple of sensation that she couldn’t readily identify through her entire body. It almost felt like all of her nerve endings woke up at the same time. Her eyes flicked up to his, and for a brief second, she would swear he looked as surprised as she felt. But as quickly as the look crossed his face, it was gone again.

She went to the Glenlivet bottle and slowly measured out the two shots before carrying the glass back to him. As before, his money sat there waiting for her. She cashed out her tip and dropped it in her jar.

Her eyes scanned the few people playing pool and the couple sitting in a booth, again finding everyone calm and not in need of anything. Going back to her stool, she picked up her glass and sipped her wine.

It was killing her not to say anything, but he seemed content with her silence. At least he wasn’t put off by her drinking with him, and it gave her something to focus on besides the monotony of running a tiny island bar.

When he finished his second drink and stood up, she felt disappointment wash over her. It would be at least another two weeks before she saw him again.

This time though, instead of his usual fade away when she wasn’t looking mode of exit, he dipped his chin toward her before he walked out the door.

Suddenly the sounds of the bar returned to her, and she realized that she’d tuned it all out while she sat at the end of the bar unofficially sharing a drink with Erik Lehnsherr.

**Author's Note:**

> If you like my work kudos are appreciated. If you love it comments are wonderful. If you have constructive criticism or questions let's talk. If you leave blatantly rude or negative comments, know that no hate is allowed here and will be deleted. And if you read my work and are too shy to interact right now, know that's okay too.
> 
> Just a general A/N regarding all of my work: Please understand that I update when writing inspiration hits. I never intend on abandoning an unfinished fic, so know that if I do I'll eventually get back to it when inspiration strikes again.


End file.
